We can't wait to see Brick director Rian Johnson's new film, in which Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a hitman who kills people from the future. We've got the full report on the WonderCon trailer, plus see the first images from the film!
The trailer opens with Joseph Gordon-Levitt standing in a desolate cornfield looking at a beautiful antique timepiece. He is holding a gigantic, cannon-like gun and is standing next to a beige mat. In voiceover, he explains, "Time travel has not yet been invented. Thirty years from now, it has." A person suddenly appears on the mat, bound and wearing a bag over his head. Without a moment's hesitation, Gordon-Levitt instantly shoots and kills the person.
The scene shifts to him depositing the victim in an incinerator, with the voiceover explaining that gangsters in the 2070s - who rather awesomely look like two-bit hoods from the 1930s - use time travel to get rid of people without the cops ever having a chance of finding them. They pay people like Gordon-Levitt extremely well to dispose of these people in the 2040s, effectively erasing them from history.
The voiceover continues, "The only rule is you never let your target escape. Even if the target is you." At this point, a new figure appears on the mat - it's Bruce Willis, playing the older version of Gordon-Levitt. Unlike the previous victim, he isn't wearing a bag over his head, and the two lock eyes in recognition. Gordon-Levitt hesitates, and Willis turns to escape. It's clear that Willis knew this was coming - which would make sense - and has prepared accordingly, wearing heavy armor on his back that repels the cannon blast.
The next scene finds Gordon-Levitt in his apartment, screaming to nobody in particular - but one would assume he's somehow talking to those gangsters in the future - that he can fix this, that "I will find him and I will kill him." Like a lot of the trailers we've seen today, the rest of the trailer is given over to full-on action craziness, featuring futuristic cars overturning in the middle of high speed chases, farms exploding, and Bruce Willis rushing through diner with his guns drawn.
We don't see much of the rest of the characters in the trailer, although there are a few quick shots of fellow looper Emily Blunt. She is also holding one of the massive cannons, and she has a similar look of uncertainty on her face - for what it's worth, director Rian Johnson made it clear at the panel that she kicks major ass in this movie. There's also a quick shot of a bearded, eccentric-looking Jeff Daniels, who observes: "This time travel shit fries your egg like a brain." Yes, I'm pretty sure that was the correct word order. Honestly, I prefer it that way.
Looper is one of our most anticipated movies of 2012, and this trailer only added to our excitement. Anyone who has seen Brick - and if you haven't seen Brick, go see Brick - know what Rian Johnson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt can do together, and this looks like a similarly intelligent, complex, innovative take on a genre film. Even more impressive is how good the action sequences look, especially considering this is new territory for Johnson.
Both settings - Gordon-Levitt's home in 2042 and Willis's in 2072 - have a great look to them, and I love the randomly retro look of the 2070s gangsters. This trailer really only introduces us to the premise and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character - other than Daniels and a random diner waitress, no other characters even talk in the trailer, including Bruce Willis - so hopefully subsequent trailers will show us more of what to expect from other areas of the film. In particular, I'm excited to get more of a sense of what to expect from Bruce Willis and how Emily Blunt's looper fits into tall this. All I know is, this is a journey that definitely looks worth taking.
Looper is set to open September 28.